Capitol commemorates Texas’ 177th birthday

What do Tiger Dancers, fiddlers, conjunto musicians and the Texas Buffalo Soldiers have in common? They were all participants in the Celebrate Texas! event held at the Capitol today to commemorate the state’s 177th birthday.

Attendees filled the rotunda for the hour-long celebration beginning with a welcome from Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, at noon. The Texas Buffalo Soldiers then presented the colors, and colorful presentations from children and musicians across the state followed.

There were signed songs by Austin’s Texas School for the Deaf students, dances by the Vietnamese American Texas Tiger Dancers from Houston, and songs from the Lone Star Kids from Electra.

The group’s youngest member, Alex Padilla, 7, said the event was his first time to visit the Capitol.

“It’s pretty big,” he said. “I love it.”

One day, he said, he hopes to get a full uniform and sword, like his father, Luis Padilla. The elder Padilla said his son has been marching with the group for about a year.

Alex Padilla, 7, the youngest member of the Texas Buffalo Soldiers, and his father, Luis. Photo by Eva Ruth Moravec.

“I want to ensure that we can keep building the legacy,” said Padilla, a program director with the Texas Parks and Wildlife and a 7-year member of the Texas Buffalo Soldiers. “It’s a great bonding experience for us, too, and it keeps him doing positive things.”